Ph.D., University of Illinois at Chicago, 1996

Physical

Energy transfer, Light-harvesting, Quantum Control, Coherent Processes, Ultrafast spectroscopy

New materials with novel photophysical properties are crucial for developing revolutionary molecular-photonic and -electronic components.

We aim at the understanding and control of light-matter interactions and thus discovering new materials for photonics applcations.

Two areas of research are explored in our laboratory. The first one involves the probe of chemical systems in condensed phase, with interest in the energy-transfer area. The goal is to understand novel properties arising not from the accumulation of single units, but those that derive from a macromolecule or polymer as a whole. Central to the project is the use of ultrafast spectroscopy to study energy transport in dendrimers and conjugated polymers whose electronic and optical properties can be chemically controlled at the molecular level.

The second area focus in the control of photochemical reactions through the use of ultrashort phase modulated excitation pulses.

Chemists have long sought to control the branching ratios and product yields of photochemical reactions. Recently, such control became attainable by manipulating the phase properties of excitation pulses, creating quantum mechanical interferences, which ultimately change the reaction outcome. In our lab, processes like isomerization, are investigated, seeking the understanding and control of the reaction mechanisms.